A Response to the Guest Letter by Jessica M. Choplin, Craig M. Klugman, and Ellen Gutiontov
I signed the original Stand Up DePaul letter, but speak only for myself here. I write in response to the April 9, 2025 Guest Letter written by Jessica M. Choplin, Craig M. Klugman, and Ellen Gutiontov.
Their Guest Letter declares in paragraph 2 the need “to protect all students – including Jews and Israelis (a.k.a. ‘Zionists’)….” I wholeheartedly agree that all of our students deserve the right to speak their minds free from fear of physical harm. It is important to note, however, that Choplin, Klugman, and Gutiontov conflate the terms “Jews,” “Israelis,” and “Zionists” as if they conveyed the same meaning. They do not. Not all Zionists are Jewish or Israeli (think for example of the evangelical movement’s support for Zionism); not all Israelis are Jewish or Zionist (I’m thinking first and foremost here of Israel’s Arab citizens); and not all Jews are Israelis or Zionists. The distinctions between these three terms must not be ignored.
Their Guest Letter confuses campus security and free speech issues on a local level with the intersection of DePaul University and oppressive federal government policies, which in my opinion was the principal concern of the original letter. As such, the original letter was quite right to omit mention of Jews, Israelis, and Zionists. They are not in the crosshairs of oppressive federal government policies. They are not being silenced, disappeared, and deported by the US government. By contrast, those who speak against ethnic cleansing in Palestine are being systematically targeted by our government. Those who protest in favor of upholding the basic human rights of Palestinians are being abducted in the streets by masked, unidentified individuals. I signed the Stand Up DePaul letter to demand that our university do what it can to protect our students, staff, and faculty made vulnerable by policies formulated beyond the boundaries of our campus.
Their Guest Letter is singularly focused on one issue as if pro-Palestinian advocates were our only concern. Let us not forget that they are not the only ones being affected by these federal policies. The original letter specifically mentions students, faculty, and staff of international origins, undocumented immigrants, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. There are multiple classes of people being targeted by our government who deserve our protection. When the federal government deports a 2-year-old American citizen in violation of fundamental due process rights, we should recognize that we are ultimately all endangered. In my mind, the original Stand Up DePaul letter was first and foremost about protecting our community and secondarily about demanding our university take a stand against the regressive, fascist policies of our current government.
Sincerely,
Mark Dike DeLancey,
Professor of History of Art and Architecture
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Mark Dike DeLancey is a professor and chair of the Department of History of Art and Architecture, and a signatory of the “Stand Up DePaul” letter.
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Guest Letters
Anyone within the DePaul community may submit a letter to the editor. All letters should be emailed to the Opinions Editor. Read the full letters to the editor policy here.